Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Latin

The Middle Ages: Historical Context

The Middle Ages span from the 5th century (Fall of the Roman Empire) to the 15th century (Discovery of America).

Mester de Juglaría: Minstrelsy & Epic Poetry

The Mester de Juglaría refers to the craft of minstrelsy. It was a collection of poems created by anonymous bards and passed down orally during the 12th and 13th centuries. These minstrel epics were performed by artists who sometimes received only food and shelter. They would travel to towns and castles, singing about great heroes.

El Cantar de Mio Cid: A National Epic

El Cantar de Mio Cid is the oldest epic poem that has reached us. Its author is unknown, but it holds significant historical value as it was written around 1140, after the death of El... Continue reading "Medieval Spanish Literature: Periods, Authors, and Masterpieces" »

The Baroque was a profound cultural and artistic movement that developed during the 17th century. This period coincided with a significant era of economic, political, and social crisis, particularly in Spain.

Spain's 17th Century: Decline and Social Upheaval

At the start of the 17th century, the peninsular kingdoms adhering to the Habsburgs still controlled a vast extent of territory. However, a process of decomposition soon began. The primary causes of this decline included:

• Widespread misery and internal depopulation due to serious epidemics, continuous wars, and religious conflicts.
• The expulsion of the Moriscos, which resulted in a significant loss of capital and a skilled labor force.
• Kings increasingly left the government in the hands of validos

Spanish Narrative Forms

Behave like courtiers and are characterized by the prominence of castidad. Highlight some femeninos characters. The discourse of the pastoral novel coincides with the adventure story in the beginning in medias res and interpolated stories of pastors.

Dialogue in Pastoral Novels

The dialogue can break in two ways:

• Letters: In every story there is an exchange of letters, but not the basic building block.
• Poems: Sometimes it works like knots of the story; they have events to better understand the history, and sometimes they are just resting in the Celestinesca novel.

Other narrative models develop using the servants of love and a procuress.

The Chivalry Novel

This subgenre saw extraordinary development, following the same narrative... Continue reading "Spanish Narrative Forms and Key Works" »

Juan Ramón Jiménez (JJR): His Onuvense character and melancholic style exemplify a path from modernism to poetic vanguardism. He died in exile and won the Nobel Prize in three stages, beginning in 1956. His poetry includes sentimental, romantic, and intimate pieces, as well as 'Diary of a Newlywed Poet'. As an intellectual, he sought the ultimate maxima and purification of transcendence, reflecting on death, transition, and eternity. Every effort was like that of a silversmith.

The second stage of his generation, the '27 group, shared intellectual concerns, influenced by figures like Salinas, Guillén, and Gerardo Diego, who had contact with JJR. The poetry of popular features unites them with Alberti, Lorca, Cernuda, García Pradovicnte,... Continue reading "Juan Ramón Jiménez: Modernism to Vanguard Poetry" »

Miguel Hernández: A Poetic Connection to Nature

Miguel Hernández, from his early years, developed a profound connection with living nature, which granted him his first insights into life. His opening lines reflect the ripples of a teenager who sought to transfer to paper the simplest, everyday events of life—those he observed daily. His work, therefore, speaks of sensory poetry, visual and audible manifestations that reveal the close connection between Miguel Hernández's poetic craft and daily life.

Everyday Poetry and Influences

This type of poetry can be described as "everyday," as if written through his very eyes. His focus is on the landscape of Orihuela and a modernism that echoes the styles of Vicente Medina and the bucolic manners... Continue reading "Miguel Hernández's Poetic Nature: Themes and Imagery" »

Latin Declensions and Case Functions

The Five Latin Declensions

1. First Declension: -a / -ae
2. Second Declension: -o / -i
3. Third Declension: Consonant stem or -i / -is
4. Fourth Declension: -u / -us
5. Fifth Declension: -e / -ei

Grammatical Functions of Latin Cases

• Nominative (Nom): Subject, Predicate Attribute
• Vocative (Voc): Appellation
• Accusative (Ac): Direct Object (CD)
• Genitive (Ge): Noun Complement (CN)
• Dative (Dt): Indirect Object (CI)
• Ablative (Ab): Circumstantial Complement (CC)

The Roman Senate

The Senate was the most important institutional body of the Roman Republic. Although its political functions diminished during the Imperial Era, Senators retained immense social prestige. They wore the toga praetexta in public ceremonies and enjoyed reserved seating... Continue reading "Roman Institutions and Latin Declensions: A Foundation" »

Poetry in the Diaspora: Luís Seoane (1910-1979)

Painter, muralist, designer, poet, playwright, Luís Seoane began to excel in his academics in Compostela. He joined the *Federación Universitaria Escolar* in 1933 and settled in Madrid as a labor lawyer. He fled to Portugal and from there embarked for Buenos Aires.

Merits:

• a) Articles published in several Argentine newspapers. He directed and collaborated with several magazines of the local Galician community: *Follas Novas*, the magazine of "Centro Gallego" and *Buenos Aires*, the newspaper *El Correo de Galicia* and *Galicia Literaria*.
• b) Edited several artistic works: 13 prints of the cartoons *Galicia Mártir*, *Atila en Galicia*, *Milicianos*, and *Estampas de la traición*, with Franco's

Spanish Poetry Since 1940

The consequences of the civil war included a break with past trends, the exile of many poets (literature speaks of two groups: inner and exile), censorship preventing poets from expressing themselves freely, and isolation from European literary and artistic movements.

Poetry of Exile

Different cases:

• Antonio Machado died a few days before leaving Spain.
• Poets of the Generation of '14, like Juan Ramón Jiménez.
• Poets from the Generation of '27: some died, like Lorca, others went into exile.

Common topics include the theme of the lost homeland. Their poems evoke struggle, illusions, and a tone of desperation and bitter nostalgia. Spanish evocation of distant lands and the craving to return. The styles are varied (Juan Gil... Continue reading "Spanish Poetry: From Civil War to Modern Avant-Garde" »

Jacinto Verdaguer (1845-1902) (second half of the 19th century)

This author represents the consolidation of Renaixença poetry and is considered the creator of modern Catalan literature. He became so popular that his poems were learned in schools, and some even became popular songs.

The work of Verdaguer includes poetry and prose, and he alternated between Castilian and Catalan in his writings, producing all his work in Catalan.

Born into a peasant family, he entered the seminary to begin his ecclesiastical career and started to familiarize himself with European culture and Greco-Roman influences. He alternated his studies with farm work and developed an enthusiasm for the popular culture of his rural upbringing (tales, legends, etc.).

After being... Continue reading "Jacinto Verdaguer: Pioneer of Modern Catalan Literature" »

The activity of monks, focused on God and the destiny of man, significantly influenced the medieval theocentric worldview.

Feudalism: Social Hierarchy of the Middle Ages

The typical social organization of the Middle Ages was feudalism, a system based on the obligation of vassals to remain loyal to their lords in exchange for land.

• Nobility: Based its influence on economic, military, and political strength. It was divided into high and low nobility, and included knights and warriors.
• Clergy: Divided into high and low clergy. The former was composed of the Church hierarchy, and the latter by common clergy or popular groups.
• Commoners (Village Level): Characterized by the absence of privileges. They constituted the largest group in society, with most